Anyone use these much?
I had one given to me and debate about setting it up. The thing I do not like about them is the reel is out of the water and I assume the line is going to freeze on your “regular” typical icefishing day.
I love them and use them all the time. It’s hard to beat the action a windlass puts out. The only problem is on the really cold days. If the sun is out you can use them well below freezing. All you have to do is put a piece of cardboard over the hole with a slit in it for the line to run through once a fish hooks up.
iceman
I had a few of them, and think I gave them an honest chance. I hated them. Other then the freezing up of the reel, line, and hole, I could not get them to function as a “jigging” tip up in anything other then the windiest (is that a word?) of situations. It seemed like I would get them set for a wind, and it would shift directions, or quite blowing. Never did as advertised.
They might work great for a warm windy day, but I did not have good luck with mine.
There might be a good trick I didn’t know about though 
I have had great luck with them. You have to use the coated braided line on them or you will have ice issues. You can get hole covers if its extremely cold.. or reserve the normal tip up for those days. It takes a bit of getting used to for the jigging, and can be impossible on really windy days. I like having everything above the water, much easier to set depths, etc.
They work best when there is a little snow to step down on the foot of the tip up!
Gary – I have used them with no issues even in cold weather. I made a float of styrofoam with a plastic tube (6″ long or so) going through the middle of it – and ran the line through it. I poured a little mineral oil into the tube. The oil floated on the water and kept everything ice free – even on very cold days. It was kind of a pain in the butt, but seemd to work. I didn’t think they worked that much better than a regular tip-up, so I have not used them in years.
Tim
If you are using cardboard, check out the Freezebees made by Stone Legacy. They work very slick and are very cheap. If you tip-up fish, these are a must. Besides keeping the holes open on the coldest days, they block light penetration. I use them on every tip-up setup I put out. They made a big difference on Mille Lacs this weekend, as they do everytime I am out 
Thanks for the recomendation Scott. I forgot to mention… I won a local tournament 2 years ago on White Bear Lake with a windlass. 
I think the action helped a lot. As I remember I was the only guy using a windlass that I could see. The next year I went to the tournament and they were all over. 
iceman
Wow, I guess I am the idiot here 
I had better give them another shot
Can these things handle a sucker for pike? Or does the sucker inhibit the action?
I’ve used 4-5inch chubs and they will pull the flapper down to the hole. I’ve also tore a couple of their fins off and then they don’t swim good enough to pull it down. I mainly use it for eyes with large fatheads.
The ones I had came with an extra spring that could be installed to hold the jigging arm up when using a heavier bait. I used cisco’s (laker fishing in canukia) and the motion added by the tip-ups seemed to make a difference. The drawback was the bulk and packability – and having them survive one long, bumpy snowmobile trip after another. For pike – a 6-8″ sucker was fine on them if both springs were attached.
Tim
Well then!
Looks like I might have to give this a try!
Thanks all!
Quote:
The ones I had came with an extra spring that could be installed to hold the jigging arm up when using a heavier bait.
I always thought that was an extra spring in case the other one got stretched out. Thanks I’ll have to try that!!
I got a couple emails in regards to these tip-ups. I guess I wasn’t clear what I was saying. I do not use the Windlass tip-ups because of the bulk of the units. I usually carry A Lot of tip-ups with me and it would not be practicle to use these, although I do believe they work.
I do use the Stone Legacy Freezebees with all my tip-ups though.
Quote:
I do use the Stone Legacy Freezebees with all my tip-ups though.
Not only are they great for using over the hole, they also help save your knees on the ice!
Funny you mention that Brett. When I get to the tip-up with the flag up, I remove the Freezebee and kneel on it when I am fighting the fish. Kneeling directly on the ice is very hard on your knees, and I am paying for all those years of doing it
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
